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Phil Horowitz has represented employees for 30 years. Mr. Horowitz has litigated hundreds of cases since 1983, including wrongful termination cases, sexual harassment cases, and cases for unpaid wages, overtime, commissions and stock options. He also serves as a mediator, helping employment lawyers and their clients settle their disputes. Mr. Horowitz has also appeared before the appellate courts, including in the landmark California Supreme Court case Reno v. Baird and the leading California Court of Appeal summary judgment case Nazir v. United Airlines.

Mr. Horowitz served as Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of California from 2007 to 2008, and continues as an Advisor.  He served from 2003 to 2005 as Chair of the California Employment Lawyers Association, the statewide association of lawyers who represent employees.  Mr. Horowitz serves on the Board of the California Lawyers Association. Mr. Horowitz also volunteer teaches trial advocacy at Stanford University and University of San Francisco Law Schools.

Mr. Horowitz chaired the advisory committee to the California Judicial Council, which drafted the form employment interrogatories adopted effective July 2002. He also chaired the advisory committee to the Judicial Council on employment jury instructions. Those new jury instructions were adopted effective July 1, 2003.

Education

  • Occidental College  (B.A. 1979)
  • Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California  (J.D. 1983)
    • Articles Development Editor, Industrial Relations Law Journal (1981-1982)
  • Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University (Candidate, LL.M. in Dispute Resolution)

Teaching at Law Schools

  • Advocacy Skills Workshop, Stanford University (1994 – present)
  • Intensive Advocacy Program, University of San Francisco  (1994 – present)
  • Lecturer, U.C. Berkeley School of Law (First Year Negotiations, Spring 2010)

Organizational Leadership

  • Chair, California State Bar Labor and Employment Law Section (Chair 2007-2008, Vice Chair 2006-2007, Secretary 2005 – 2006, Executive Committee, 2002 – 2005, Advisor 2008 – )
  • Chair, California Employment Lawyers Association (2003 – 2005)
  • Board of Directors, California Employment Lawyers Association (1998 – 2017)
  • Board, California Lawyers Association (2018 — )
  • Chair, Employment Form Interrogatories Advisory Committee to the California Judicial Council (1999 – 2002)
  • Chair, California State Bar Labor and Employment Law Section’s Advisory Committee to the California Judicial Council on Employment Jury Instructions (Chair 2003, Member 2001 – 2003)

Author

Editorial Boards

  • Bender’s California Labor & Employment Bulletin (monthly, 2004 – present)
  • Representing California Sexual Harassment Plaintiffs, James Publishing (book published 2004)
  • Guerrilla Discovery, James Publishing (book published 2003)

In the Media

Phil Horowitz has been quoted many times in the media, sometimes about his own cases, but more often as an authority on employment law. Click here to see some of the ways Mr. Horowitz has been quoted in the New York Times, Associated Press, U.S. News & World Report, Business Week, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Daily Journal, The Recorder, and other publications.

Lecturer

  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “The Aging Population of Lawyers: Competency, Impairments, Accommodations and Transitions” (2017)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Using Expert Witnesses to Win Employment Cases” (2017)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Wrongful Discharge Cases: Pleadings” (2016)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Wrongful Discharge Cases: Discovery” (2016)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Wrongful Discharge Cases: Summary Judgment and Settlement” (2016)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “How to Win and Defeat Motions for Summary Judgment in Employment Cases: An Advanced Course” (2015)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating a Disability Discrimination Case: Trial Demonstration Seminar” (2014)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, Deposition Skills Workshop, Trainer and Planning Committee (2014)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, First Annual Trial College, Trainer and Planning Committee (2014)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Ethics in Employment Litigation” (2014)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Harassment Cases: Complaining, Investigating and Documenting” (2012)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Harassment Cases: Pleadings” (2012)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Harassment Cases: Discovery” (2012)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Harassment Cases: Summary Judgment and Settlement” (2012)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Managing Leaves: A Practical Guide for Employers and Employees” (2011)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Disability Discrimination Cases: Pleadings and Discovery” (2011)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, Annual Meeting, “Mock Trial of a Disability Discrimination Case” (2010)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Wrongful Discharge Cases: Settlement” (2010)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Wrongful Discharge Cases: Summary Judgment” (2010)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Wrongful Discharge Cases: Discovery” (2010)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Litigating Wrongful Discharge Cases: Pleadings” (2010)
  • Orange County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Summary Judgment Motions After Nazir” (2010)
  • State Bar of California, Section Cyber Institute, “Layoffs: Rights, Rules and Restrictions” (2010)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, “Hot Topics and Recent Victories in the California Employment Law Plaintiff’s Bar” (2009)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, “The Impact of the Nazir v. United Airlines Opinion” (2009)
  • National Employment Lawyers Association, “The Latest Dirty Tricks by California Defense Attorneys: Defense School Deconstructed” (2009)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Sexual Harassment: Prevention, Investigation and Litigation” (2009)
  • Center for Collaborative Solutions, “Internet Use in the Workplace: Online Speech and Privacy Issues” (2009)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Sprint and Jones: New Blockbuster Employment Discrimination Cases” (2008)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section, “Brinker: the End of California Meal and Rest Break Litigation or Only the Beginning?” (2008)
  • Continuing Education of the Bar (“CEB”), “Employment Litigation Practice Issues” (2007)
  • Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyers Association (“PELA”), “360 Degrees of Privacy” (2007)
  • State Bar of California, Annual Meeting, “Update on Wrongful Termination and Discrimination Law” (2006)
  • State Bar of California, Labor & Employment Law Section, “Winning Opening Statements and Closing Arguments” (2006)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, “Drafting Jury Instructions” (2006)
  • State Bar of California, Labor & Employment Law Section, “Harassment Training: Dramatization and Discussion” (2005)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, “Employment Law 101: Law Office Management” (2005)
  • State Bar of California, Labor & Employment Law Section, “The Avoidable Consequences Doctrine After McGinnis” (2005)
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, “New Face of Sexual Harassment” (2004)
  • Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California & Nevada,  “Regarding McGinnis and Beyond” (2004)
  • Lorman,  Discovery Skills for Legal Staff in California (2004)
  •  Bar Association of San Francisco, Labor and Employment Law Section. “The New Employment Form Interrogatories and Jury Instructions” (2002)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, “Discovery of Electronic Data and Other Prickly Discovery Issues” (2001)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, “Ethical and Strategic Use of Internet and Other Electronic Technology in Discovery and Trial” (2000)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, “Interaction Between FMLA, ADA, and Workers Compensation Claims” (1999)
  • American Board of Vocational Experts, “Use of Vocational  Experts in Wrongful Termination Cases” (1999)
  • California Rehabilitation Association – North, East Bay, San Francisco District, “Expert Witness Testimony: The Nuts and Bolts for Rehab Counselors” (1999)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, “Developing and  Managing the Plaintiff’s Employment Practice” (1998)
  • State Bar of California, Labor and Employment Law Section,  “Multiple Forums for the Injured/Disabled Worker” (1993)
  • California Employment Lawyers Association, “Practice Tips: Torts with Potential”  (1993)
  • San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, “Hiring and Firing Within the Law” (1993)
  • California Trial Lawyers Association, “Requests for Admission”  (1992)
  • Bay Area Legal Recruitment Association, “Sexual Harassment in Law Firms” (1992)
  • California Federation of Teachers, Council of Classified  Employees, “Public Employees and Wrongful Discharge” (1987)